Safety device



March 31. 1925. 1,531,331

E. BESSETTE SAFETY DEVI CE Filed Jan. 2 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ,g is

l? a6 Z5 J0 f 3l INVENTOR ATTORNEYS March 3l. 1925. V1,531,331 E, BEssl-:TTE

SAFETY DEVICE Filed Jan. 2, 1924 2 Sheets-Shadi'. 2

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Patented Mar. 31, 1925.

PATENT OFFICE. y

EDOUARD BESSETTE, OF PAWTUCKET, RHODE ISLAND.

SAFETY DEVICE.

Application filed Cilanuary 2, 19241 Serial No. 683,992.

To all whom it may conce/rfa:

'Be it known that I, EDOUARD BEssErrn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Pawtucket, 'in the countyy of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and usefulL Improvements in Safety Devices, of which the following is a specification. y,

rIhis invention relates to safety devices adapted to be employed in connection with boats.

An object of the inventionis the provision of a device providing means of escape from a submerged vessel and adapted to be employed in connection'with a safety cham-` ber which permits the safety device to be discharged from the vessel without the adiiiission of water to the vinterior of' the vessel. f

A further object of the invention is the provision of a device for transporting persons within the interior of a submerged vessel to the surface and which is adapted tov be operated by the person carried therein,

thedevice being provided with a propelling apparatus for directing the movements of the same after the transporting device has4 reached the surface ofthe water.

Another object of thev invention yis the provision of an escapement chamber forming an intermediary between the exterior and interior of the vessel through which a 4person may escape from the vessel without permitting Ywater to enter lthe said vessel, the chamber being equipped with means for forcing water outof the chamber when said chamber has been charged withV water.

Astill further object of the invention is the provision of a'safety chamber forming an intermediary between the interior and the exterior ofthe vessel whereby a personA may escape lfrom the vessel without permit-l ting water toenter the same, the said chamber being provided with ymeans whereby closures between the interior of thechamber and the exterior or interior of the'vessel may be operated from without or from within the chamber.

This invention will be best understood from'a consideration of the following de-y tailed description, in view of the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification; nevertheless it is to be vunderstood that the invention is not confined to the disclosure, being susceptiblev of such changes and modifications which ,shall de fine no material departure from the salient yfeatures of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawings zv Figure l is a sectional view of a safety chamber adapted to be placed in a vessel and also showing a vertical section of a transporting device to be used in connection with the chamber.

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the chain.- ber showing the transporting apparatus enclosed within the chamber.

Figure 3 is a vertical section of the safety chamber showing the outer closure open and the transporting device on its way to the surface of the water. Y

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the safety chamber showingy the water discharging means in operative position.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, l designates the top of a boat adapted to be submerged having an opening in which is adapted to'be fittedV fluid-tight the upper end walls of a casing 2. The top 3 of the casingis provided with anopening 4 adapted to be closed by a covery 5 pivot'- ally mounted at 6 on one side wall 7 of the. casing. n

The inner face of the closure 5 is provided with a slotted U-shaped lmember S, a shaft 9 journaled at one end in a bracket l0, having a threaded portion 11 adapted to engage the threads of a nut l2 formed in the bottom 13 of the casing and adapted to be moved up and down when the wheel 14 is rotated.

The upper end of the shaft 9 is provided with a groove lthereby forming a head 16 which is adapted to be moved within the hollow portion of the U-shaped tube 8. The groove 15 is adapted tobe engaged by the adjacent portion of the slot of the U-shaped memberk so that when the shaft 9 is rotated the closure 5 will be elevated as the head 16 moves iny thehollow U-shaped member 8, the closure being elevated in lthe manner shown in Figure 3.

` A gear 17 is rigidly connected with the shaft 9 and is adapted to engage the elonper end journaled in the bracket'l() and its lower end 1n a .bearing 19 formed on the bottom of the'casing 2. The lower end of the gear 18 is provided with a bevelled gear 20 for a purpose Gated teeth of a gear 18 which has its up- The bottom 13 of the casing 2 is provided with an opening 21` adapted to be closed by a cover 22 pivoted at 23 at one end o f the opening 21. The cover is provided with a latch 24 having a rack formation adapted to be engaged by a gear 25 operated by a handle 26 which is normally located within. the casing 2 when the cover 22 is closed. The outer end of the rack is adapted to engagea keeper 27 for maintaining the cover closed when desired. The cable 38 connected by a ring 22l to door 22 is employed for closing said door when desired.

Pivotally connected at the opposite sides of the opening 21 are supports 28 and 29 for engaging beneath the lugs 30 upon the sides of the transporting device 31 for maintaining said device in an upright position within the casing 2 and when the cover 22 is closed as shown in Figure 2. A plunger 32 is slidably mounted within the chamber 2 and is operated by a screw 33 engaging the threads of a nut 34 formed in one side wall of the casing 2. A hand wheel 35 is adapted to be rotated for opera-ting the screw. A

Then the transporting apparatus 31 is located without the chamber 2 and it is desired to empty the chamber of water the screwV is operated and the plunger 32 is moved forwardly forcing the water out of the chamber against the pressure of the water on the outside of the boat, it being understood, of course, that the cover 5 is open at this time.` It will be unnecessary to manually open the cover 5 since the pressure of the water upon the exterior of the boat maintains the` cover closed and the movement of the. plunger 32 laterally within the casing will force the cover open and the water from the chamber as shown more particularly in Figure 4.

lVhen the plunger 32 is moved to operative position it will be seen that the pivotcd Supports 28 and 29 will rest upon the inner face of the lower closure 22 and permit the plunger to be operated. Any water that remains in the chamber due to the interference of the shafts 9 and 18 to a full stroke of the plunger 327 is drained through a valve pipe 36.

A pulley 37 is connected with the top inner face of the top closure 5 over which is entrained a cable 38 having one end connected by means'of a hook to a cable 39 secured to the inner wall of the transporting apparatus 31. The other end of the cable is directed downwardly and within reach of theoperator of the transporting apparatus. The cable is operated through an opening at thel top of the transporting apparatus 31. A convex closure 40 for the opening is pivotally mounted on the top and is operated through av shaft 41 carriedby a bracket 42 and a bracket 43. These brackets are provided with nuts adapted to cooperate with the threads on the shaft 41 when the wheel 44 is turned for moving the shaft upwardly or downwardly. The inner face of the closure 40 is provided with a U-shaped member 45 similar to the member 8 connected with closure 5. The shaft is likewise provided with a head 46 adapted to cooperate with the slotted portion of the hollow U-shaped member 45 and forming a swivel joint between the U-shaped member and the shaft. The lower end of the transportation device is provided with an opening 47 of sufficient dimension to permit the passage of a person therethrough and the same is closed by a cover 48 pivotally mounted at 49 on the inner surface of the bottom of said device, A latch 50 cooperating with the keeper 51 serves to lock the closure in position.

Adjacent the top and connected with the outer wall of the device` 31 are formed air chambers 52 which are gradually reduced in capacity as they approach the top of the dcvice and are for the purpose of aiding in elevating the safety device when the top 5 has been opened and the safety device is discharged into the water whereby the same is elevated. A shaft 53 passes through the wall of the device 31 and is providedwith a hand wheel 54 upon the inner portion of the chamber of the float or safe-ty device and a bevelled gear 55 which is adapted to mesh with the gear 2O when the float is located in the position shown in Figure 2 so that the hand wheel 54 when operated will rotate gear 20, gear 18, gear 17 and shaft 9 whereby the cover 5 will be elevatedor lowered by an occupant sealed within the oat 31. After the float has reached the surface. after having escaped from the chamber 2 and likewisc from the` submerged vessel, the same may be propelled in any direction by means of a crank shaft 56 which may be operated by the hand wheel 57 or some pedal attachment connected with the crank 58. i The shaft extends through bearings in thcouter wall of the float 31 and is provided with a propeller 59.

The operation of my device is as follows: Then the casing or chamber 2 is free of water the pulley carrying the cable 38 may be engaged by the eye bolt 37a secured to the inner faceV of thel closure 5 and the float or cage 31 be elevated sufcientlv to permit the inner door 22 to be closed with the cage resting upon the pivoted supports 28 and 29, the free ends` of the pivoted supports engaging beneath the lugs 30 on the cage. The person attempting to escape from the submerged vessel enters the cage 31 through the open door 48 whence the door 22 on the chamber 2 through the cable 22 may be closed and the lat-c1124 thrown. The occupant of the llfl interior of the cage. When the cage is' moved into operative positionv as shown 1nV Figure 2, the gear 55V is in engagement with the gear 20. The occupant of the cage opcrates wheel 54 thereby operating gear 55,

gear 20 and gear 18 whereby gear 17 andr shaft 9 isrotated e The rotation of shaft 9 causes the shaft to move upwardly and torce the closure 5 open against the pressure ot the water. The water rushing in surrounds the cage 31 and in view of the air chambers 52 the cage is elevated through the opening 4 and passes to the surface of the water. The short time required for elevating the cage 31 will not endanger the life of the occupant of the cage due to the lack of oxygen. The occupant of the car then operates wheel 44 and opens the trap door 40. Thek floating cage is then propelled by means of a propeller 59 which is actuated through the shaft 56. The exterior door 5 to the chamber 2 may be closed through the wheel 14 by the remaining occupants of the boat and from the interior of the boat by rotating the same when the door will be lowered by gravity. The wheel 35 is then operated causing the screw to force the plunger 32 inwardly and force the greater part of the water within the chamber past the door 5. The remainder of the water may be withdrawn from said chamber through the valve pipe 36. The inner door 22 is then opened and another cage may be placed within the chamber for permitting another person to escape. It must be borne in mind that the pulley 37 and cable 38 are removed from supporting relation with the cage 31 before the door 40 is closed.

`What I claim is:

1. In combination with a vessel having an opening in its outer wall, a casing having its upper end sealed to the opening and having openings at its top and bottom, closures 'for said openings, a plunger mounted for reciprocation within the casing for expelling water from the same, a screw mounted for rotation within the casing and having swivel connection with the top closure whereby rotation of the same will cause opening or closing of said closure, said screw being provided with means within the casing and externally of the casing whereby the screw may be rotated by either of said means.

2. In a vessel having an opening and a closure for the same, a cage adapted to be floated through the opening in the vessel and having openings at its top and bottom, closures for said openings adapted to seal a person confined within the cage from exposure to water, means for operating the top closure from within the cage chamber, said means comprising a screw mounted for rotation within the cage, a nut engageable with the threads of the screw for elevating and lowering the screw when rotated, and a swivel connection between the top closure and the upper end ot the screw, and an air chamber connected with the cage, and means operated from the cagefor operating the closure for the opening inthe vessel.

3. The combination with a boat having an opening in its outer wall, a casing sealed to said opening' and provided with external and internal openings, a closure for each opening, means located within the casing and projecting into the vessel adapted to be operated for opening the external closure, a floating cage adapted to be positioned within the casing, means for supporting the cage over the internal opening of the casing, said cage being provided with top and bottom openings and closures for said openings,

means connected with the cage and adapted to be operated within the cage for causing operation of the actuating means for the external closure of the casing, and a plunger in the casing adapted when operated to force water from said casing, and means for draining water from the casing after the plunger has been operated.

4. The combination with a` boat having an opening in its wall, a casing sealed to said opening and provided with external and internal openings, closures for said openings, a screw mounted for rotation within the casing and adapted when rotated to close or open the closure for the external opening of the casing, a gear on the screw for rotating the screw, a gear within the casing adapted to be engaged by the gear on the screw, a beveled gear connected with the last mentioned gear, a second beveled gear in mesh with the irst mentioned beveled gear for op* erating the same, a shaft carrying the second mentioned bevelled gear, a floating cage adapted to be positioned within the casing and carrying the last mentioned shaft, and means within the cage adapted to cause rotation of the sha-ft and the gears for rotating the screw.

5. The combination with a boat having an opening in its wall, a casing sealed to said opening and provided with external and internal openings, closures for said openings, a screw mounted for rotation within the casing and adapted when rotated to close or open the closure for the external opening of the casing, a gear on the screw for rotating the screw, a gear within the casing adapted to be engaged by the gear on the screw, a beveled gear connected with the last mentionedA gear, a second beveled gear in mesh with the first mentioned beveled gear for operating the same, a shaft carrying the second mentioned beveled gear, a floating cage adapted to bra-"positioned Within thecasing and Carrying the last mentioned sha-tt, means within the cage adapted to cause r0- tation of the shaft and the gears for rotating the screwy'and means connected `with the screw and'projectingWithin the vessel Jfor operating the screw externally of the casing.

6. In Combination, a vessel having an opening, a casing for sealing- Said opening and provided With an external and 'internal opening,- forming a passageway between the interior and exterior of the vessel, closures for said openings, a Vfloatingeage adapted to be positioned Within the casing, elevated means connected with the closure for elevatingthe cage to a position Within the casing, means for operating the external closure to open position, means in the Cage adapted to be operated for actuating the operating means of the external Closure of the casing, and means for forcing Water from the cas ing and a pipe connected with the easing for draining surplus Water from the easing.

EDOUARD BESSETTE. 

